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BE AWAKE TO YOUR CALL!
Most thinking people reach a point where they feel there must be another
dimension in life. The chase for the soul, the innate knowledge that there must
be more to life - and most of all the feeling that we each have a purpose -
brings one to the doorstep of the most important decision we will ever have to
make in life.
Investigating our tachlit, our purpose in life, is no easy task. By 40 years of
age, anyone who has uncovered this individual purpose for his or her existence
is well ahead of the game. The Mesilos Yeshorim begins with the charge, "It is
the basic obligation of every Jew to clarify and decide what is his purpose in
this world." The story is told of one of the great masters of mussar who decided
to study the Mesilos Yeshorim, but every time he picked up the book, he couldn't
get past this first sentence, the most important question we may ever ask
ourselves. Why did God put me on this world? What is my particular task? In what
way am I totally indispensable? Let's talk tachlit.
Rav Tzadok HaCohen, in Tzidkas Hatzadik, teaches a very fundamental principle.
He says that at some point in every person's life, God grants a vision, perhaps
a form of prophecy. In this vision one sees a picture of oneself, of what he or
she could look like, of oneself as the greatest individual one can become. In
kabbalistic language, this is referred to isarusa d'leyla an awakening from
above. It is not a result of personal toil but rather a gift from the heavens, a
job description, a wake-up call from headquarters.
After having this dream, says Rav Tzadok, most people withdraw into the present
and forget what they have seen. They throw away a gift from God, who has just
shown them what they could become in life, their raison d'être.
The Talmud states that when the people of Israel stood before the split Red Sea,
every single Jew received a prophecy. "A simple handmaiden saw what one of the
greatest prophets, Ezekiel, didn't see." More than three million Ezekiels. What
did they see? What did God tell them? Where are their books of prophecy? What
became of all the handmaidens?
The answer is that their prophecies were not about the future or about Messianic
times. Their vision was of themselves. Each Jew was shown an image of what he or
she could become, of his or her unique contributions to the world. When the
freed slaves crossed the Sea, it wasn't to get to the other side, it was to
become "a holy people and a nation of priests" (Exodus 19:6). It became their
charge, as it is ours, to work tirelessly to meet that goal.
Rav Tzadok warns that a person should not strive for aspirations that are not
one's own. They will only serve as a diversion from the true task of life.
One of the most moving stories of the Torah occurred immediately before the
death of Jacob. He gathered all his children around him and told them to listen
while he blessed them and told them what would happen to them at the end of days
(Gen. 49:1). The Hebrew word, yekara, which is usually translated as "happen,"
is peculiarly spelled here with a final aleph instead of a final heh. This
letter changes the meaning of the word, to "call." Jacob told his children,
"Gather as one and I will tell you what will be calling to you at the end of
days."
Jacob was teaching his sons, and all of Israel, a fundamental principle. There
will come a time in your life when you will hear a calling. When you hear it, it
may seem unrealistic or naïve, but don't turn away. Grab it. It is yours to
attain. If you turn around and go back to sleep, it will disappear. A life is a
terrible thing to waste.
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